A dual-track programme combining 1-to-1 coaching with facilitated group sessions — proven at The Fat Duck Group and beyond.
You were the best on the section. The fastest, the most reliable, the one who never called in sick. So they promoted you. And nobody told you that the skills that got you the title are not the skills that keep your team.
You are now responsible for people — their development, their motivation, their wellbeing, their decision to stay or leave — and you were given no training for any of it.
Not broken. Undertrained. That distinction is not an excuse. It's a starting point.
The programme follows a deliberate arc — building trust before going deep, testing new skills in real operations, then grounding everything so leaders leave with their feet beneath them.
Each week carries a primary emphasis, but all three pillars are always present — because pattern recognition without communication is insight that stays trapped, and communication without real-world testing is theory.
From Controller to Developer. Every hospitality leader carries a default operating mode — typically the Controller or the Firefighter. These modes got you promoted. But they create the very turnover you're trying to prevent. This pillar helps you see the pattern.
You have a vocabulary for service that could fill a training manual. And a vocabulary for developing people that fits on a Post-it note. This pillar builds precision in listening, observation-based feedback, and relational communication.
The coaching room is not where the work lives. The kitchen, the restaurant floor, the morning briefing — these are the proving ground. This pillar ensures everything is tested in actual relationships with actual people.
Each week comprises two distinct facilitated experiences. The combination is what makes the programme work — personal insight becomes shared language, and shared language becomes cultural change.
Confidential, individually tailored. The space for personal pattern recognition, honest self-assessment, and vulnerability that isn't possible in a group setting. Where a leader can say "I'm struggling" without performing competence for their peers.
Creates a shared leadership language, allows leaders to practise new skills in a low-stakes environment, and builds collective accountability. Alternates between structured teaching sessions and Action Learning — where the group tackles real operational challenges, topic always chosen by the group.
Each week builds on the last. Between-session work ensures new skills are tested in real operations before the next session deepens them.
Diagnostic leadership profile revealing default operating mode. Group introductions through structured rounds — leadership style, biggest people-challenge, programme goals. Tim names shared themes without attributing to individuals.
Structured TeachingCommunication patterns under pressure. Levels of Communication framework — surface versus depth. Paired Active Listening exercise and Feedback Reframe — rewriting judgement-based feedback as observation-based.
Structured TeachingStress mapping, energy audit, and the PMES Energy Framework. "What does your team see when you're running on empty?" Boundary commitment — because you can't hold others if you're not holding yourself.
Structured TeachingPurpose exploration through adapted Ikigai lens. First Action Learning session — the group selects a real operational challenge. Tim facilitates strictly: questions before advice, ownership stays with the presenter. This always reveals leadership dynamics beneath the operational surface.
Action LearningSBI Feedback Framework. Delegation as development versus task-offloading. Values Alignment Exercise — personal top three values mapped against organisational dominant values. This reveals where culture is lived and where it's only marketed.
Structured TeachingTim meets with senior leadership — sharing emerging themes at group level, celebrating what's shifting, and creating conditions for honest upward communication. Without exposing individual participants.
Senior LeadershipEmpowerment audit. The 95/5 ratio revisited — has it shifted? Three specific development actions for team members. Action Learning on real team development challenges. System pushback expected — the team may test whether changes are real.
Action LearningConflict pattern mapping. Leadership Archetype identification — The Controller, The Firefighter, The Developer, The Abdicator. Which do you default to? Action Learning on real conflicts. The deepest session of the programme.
Action LearningResilience reframed — from endurance ("just get on with it") to adaptive resilience (recovery, learning, growth). Building resilient team culture. Addressing the generational tension directly.
Structured TeachingReturn to the original assessment. What has changed? Personal Development Plan with SMART goals. Integration Plan: one practice, one relationship, one truth. Tim names what he has seen in each person. There is no homework. The homework is now the leader's life.
Closing SessionHolding leaders with genuine care while refusing to let them hide behind their operating mode. Sitting with discomfort rather than rescuing. Naming what you see rather than waiting for discovery. Asking the avoided question. All with warmth, respect, and 30 years of industry credibility.
Elite establishments don't repeat programmes that don't deliver results.
Delivered across The Fat Duck and The Hinds Head. Restaurant Managers, Sous Chefs, Sommeliers. Helped leaders shift from fear-based authority to trusted, accountability-driven leadership. Senior leadership participated in alignment sessions. They ran it twice and expanded it to their sister restaurant.
General Managers and Chefs across five London pubs. Addressed owner-identified operational challenges by revealing the underlying leadership and cultural dynamics. Included a two-day leadership away day with shadow work, strategic planning, and accountability mapping.
"The leadership programme at The Fat Duck has been nothing short of transformative. It has provided our team with the tools, insights, and confidence to bridge generational gaps, handle pressure with grace, and elevate every aspect of our kitchen culture. This programme has redefined what leadership in hospitality can and should be."— The Fat Duck Group
Tim knows what pressure in service actually feels like. This programme is built from that reality — not from theory or outside observation. He combines active operations experience, elite-level results, and certified transformation methodology. No competitor can match all three.
A confidential conversation about your specific challenges, team dynamics, and what transformation looks like for your business.
Tim adapts the programme structure to your operational reality — cohort selection, scheduling around service, and specific focus areas.
Nine weeks of dual-track delivery. Senior leadership briefing and midpoint alignment included. Post-programme integration support.
The next step is a discovery conversation. No obligation. Just an honest look at what's happening in your team and whether this programme is the right fit.
Tim Clements · support@mymentalkitchen.com · 07944 390 309 · mymentalkitchen.com